Envelop-handling mechanism for address-printing machines.



C. CHISHOLME" ENVELOP HANDLING MECHANISM FOR ADDRESS. PRINTING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 1,5; 19- 7 1,285,623. Patented Nov. 26, 1918.

2 SHEETSSHEEI l.

C. CHISHOLM.

ENVELOP HANDLING MECHANISM FOR ADDRESS PRINTING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED ov. 15.1917,

Patented Nov. 26, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

PATENT OFFICE.

CLIFTON CHISHOLM, 0F CLEVELAND, OHIO.

ENVELOP-HANDLING MECHANISM FOR ADDRESS-PRINTING MACHINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 26, 1918.

Application filed November 15, 1917. Serial No. 202,094.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CLIFTON CmsHoLM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Envelop-Handling Mechanism for Address-Printing Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to the kind of ad dress printing machines in and by which address plates, stored in a. suitable receptacle, are automatically withdrawn, one by one, and brought into printing relation with envelops which the machine automatically withdraws from a receptacle therefor, and carries into printing relation with said plates. The present invention relates to the mechanism by which the envelops are withdrawn, one by'one, from a. hopper in which a stack of envelops may be placed, carried into printing relation with said address plates, and the printed envelops subsequently stacked.

One object of. the invention is to provide mechanism for this purpose which will rapidly withdraw the envelops one at a time and carry them through the machine as stated.

Another object is to render this mechanism adjustable to-such an extent as is necessary to enable its use in connection with envelops of all sizes.

Another object of the invention is to provide such envelop'feeding mechanism as will only withdraw from the envelop hopper such envelops as are so placed therein that when withdrawn they will be properly presented to the address plates. When envelop feeding mechanism is employed which acts regardless of whether the envelops are placed in the envelop hopper in one way or another, envelops which are misplaced therein will frequently be spoiled by having the addresses printed thereon at the wrong place before the operator notices that the en velops have been misplaced.

Another object is to automatically cause the entire machine to stop if the envelop hopper becomes emptied, or if, for any other reason, the feeding mechanism does not take from the hopper, every time it should, an

ruvelop for cooperation with an address plate synchronously taken from the receptacle therefor and carried to the printing position. In case some mechanism was not provided to prevent such mischance, address plates might be fed past the printing position when no envelops are carried to this position to receive the impression therefrom, and in that event, a greater or less number of address plates would not be printed, but

would pass to the receiver of such plates before this condition Was noticed by the operator.

Another object of the invention is to insure that the envelops after being fed past the address printing position shall be neatly stacked, and therefore be in such condition that they may be removed in a condition suitable for repacking or mailing.

The invention consists in the construction and combination of parts shown in the drawings and hereinafter described and definitely pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing, Figure 1 is-a plan view of the mechanism in which the present invention is embodied; Fig. 2 is a side elevation partly sectioned, from the right side of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is. an enlarged sideelevation from the left side of Fig. 1 of a part I of saidmechanism; Fig. 4 is a vertical, sectional view of one of the face cams 82 and pants adjacent thereto; Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the clutch mechanism for connecting the shaft 51 with the driving pulley; Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view of the circuit of the magnet by which this clutch mechanism may be caused to disengage.

The envelop handling mechanism shown and described herein is substantially like that which is shown and described in my prior applicationSerial No. 126,829, filed October 21, 1916, in so far as concerns the essential characteristics of the hopper and the means by which it is rendered adjustable,

different envelop stacking mechanism, and also some additional features not disclosed in said prior application.

A stack of envelops to be addressed is placed in a hopper which as a whole is indicated by 10. This hopper as shown includes a fixed vertical plate 12 which is located at a point adjacent but preferably slightly in front of the highest part of the cylindrical platen 50,there being between the surface of the platen and the lower edge of said hopper plate a narrow slot 11 for the envelop to pass through. The hopper also includes two rear corner members 13 made of thin metal bent to form angle bars as shown. Each corner member carries a horizontal plate l i which plates serve as the bottom of the hopper. These plates let must be large enough to support the stack of envelope, but they preferably should be of such shape that neither of them goes under the flap 6 of the lowest envelop E of a stack when said envelops are placed in the hopper with their flaps downward and pointing rearward, that is to say, with the bend e that connects the envelop and flap adjacent the front plate 12 of the hopper. The two corner members 13 are respectively secured to slides 15 which are movably mounted on transverse bars 16 rigidly secured to end pieces 17 to form a sliding frame. This frame is slidable horizontally on the main frame 19 of the machine toward and from the front hopper plate.

It is, therefore, possible to adapt this hopper for longer or shorter envelops by moving the slides 15 away from or toward each other. It is likewise possible to adapt the hopper for wider or narrower envelops by moving the sliding frame 16, 17, away from or toward the fixed hopper plate.

A cylindrical platen is secured to a rotatable shaft 51 mountedi-n fixed bearings in the frame work of the machine, said platen being located in the stated relation to the hopper. This shaft is preferably the main driving shaft of a machine of which the described envelop handling mechanism is a art.

This shaft passes loosely through and helps to support two non-rotating face cams 82 which are located at opposite ends of said platen. Each of these face cams is carried by a hanger 80 which is partly supported by but is movable transversely with respect to an extended frame bar 81 so as to carry said cams toward or awa from the ends of the platen.

Associated with each cam is a sleeve which has a tongue and groove driving connection with the shaft 51. It may, there fore, move lengthwise on said shaft, hut must rotate with it. The associated cam projects into an annular groove in the as- 1,2es,ees

sociated sleeve, said groove being between the annular shoulder 61 on said sleeve and a nut 62 which screws onto said sleeve. The sleeve may, therefore, rotate in the cam; but when either is moved lengthwise of the shaft the other must move with it.

An envelop feeding lever 65 straddles each of these sleeves and is ivoted thereon by pivot pins 66 which are iametrical with re spect to said shaft and sleeve. As a measure of economy in construction one of these pins goes through the sleeve into a longitudinal groove 57 in the shaft and thereby the tongue and groove connection between the shaft and sleeve is produced. These feed levers 65 engage the cam flange 83 on both sides of the axis of the shaft; wherefore, as the shaft turns the cam will cause these levers to rock on their pivots.

Each lever has at the outer end of each of its arms a thin ofiset finger 68. The lever arms are of such length that as the shaft is rotated, the fingers will, as they move across the top of their paths, engage the lower face of the lower envelop, and will insert themselves between the lower surface of said envelop and the depending flap thereof, and come against the bend e which unites the flap and envelop. It should be explained that the cams 82 are of such shape, substantially as shown, that as the fingers are ascending toward the envelope, their respective fingers are moved toward each other, and, therefore, into such position that said fingers will pass between the lowest envelop and its flap and engage the bend, as stated.

Asthe shaft 51 continues to turn the soengaged lowest envelop will be positively withdrawn from the hopper below the lower edge of the front hopper plate and will be carried around with the platen cylinder, as shown in Fig. 3. The envelop will be caused to curve around this platen cylinder by a curved shield 54, which is fixed in position and follows the curvature of the platen cylinder from the front hopper plate down to the bottom of the cylinder, which is the point at which the envelops will be brought into printing engagement with printing plates which are being fed through the machine by suitable mechanism, which, for example, may be that which is shown in the above mentioned prior application. Before the envelop reaches the printin position the earns 82 will have swung the feed levers on their pivots so as to move their fingers apart, and cause them to release their engagement with said envelop. This movement apart of the descending arms of the feed lever is obviously accompanied by a movement toward each other of the ascending arms of said lever to bring them to the described position where their fingers will engage the lowest envelop in the hopper.

I This of course, assumes that fingers are placed on both ends of these envelop feeding levers. When they are so placed as shown, two envelops are withdrawn from the hopper during each revolution of shaft 51. If the fingers are only placed at one end of each lever only one envelop would be withdrawn from the hopper during each revolution of the shaft 51.

velop shall pass at a time out of the hopper under the front plate thereof. To prevent thatone (or more) stop fingers 9 which are best shown in Fig. 3, are located in front of said front plate a short distance, and extend downward toward the platen cylinder. The lower edge of this finger is below the horizontal plane in which next to the lowest envelop lies in the hopper. Therefore, when the feed fingers 68 engage the lowest envelop and positively begin to withdraw it from the hopper beneath the lower edge of the front plate, the next envelop may stick to the lowest envelop and pass with it below the front plate of the hopper; but before the front edge of the lowest envelop reaches the stop finger, the front edge of this lowest envelop will have been bent downward so that it will pass beneath the stop finger. The front edge of the second envelop, however, will not be so bent down, but will come up against the stop finger and its further movement forward will be prevented. When the next pair of feed fingers 68 come up they will pass above the flap of this envelop which has moved forward this short distance, and will, by engagement with the flap, pull the front edge of this envelop down below the stop finger and will carry the envelop under it as above specified.

As the addressed envelops pass out from under the platen cylinder 50 they are pushed between two feed rolls 30, 31, from which they are discharged onto downwardly inclined bars 3st upon which they slide down toward the horizontal stacking bars 90. A stacking device catches the envelops as they slide down these bars 34: and delivers them onto the stacking bars 90 and pushes them up against a follower 91 which slides upon said stacking bars. The stacking device as shown is a shaft 35 which rotates in proper relation to the other rotating parts of the machine. On it are two cam disks 36 each .mounted on shaft 51. Adjacent this pulley 1s a sliding clutch sleeve 101 having a tongue 110 of which has an envelop receiving peripheral slot 37 of ample capacity. Each envelop slides down the inclined bars 34 and goes edgewise into the two slots, which, by the rotation of the shaft 35,v have reached the position to receive the envelop. The continued 70 revolution of said slotted disks deposits the envelop edge down onto the stacking'bars 90, and then the periphery of the disks engage the envelop and push it along said stacking bars and holds it upright until the instant before another envelop is similarly delivered onto said stacking bars.

The feed roll 30 is idly mounted on a fixture. The feed roll 31 is mounted on a frame 32 which is hung on the shaft 51. The roll 31 carries a gear 31 that meshes with an dler gear 38 mounted on frame 32, and this idler gear 1n turn meshes with and is driven by a gear 51" fixed to shaft 51.

Each of the hopper corner members has pivoted to it a lin which link 94 is pivoted to another link 95 that in turn is pivoted to the hanger 80 which supports the associated cam. This connection between the hopper members and cam is not of the character such that if a hopper member is moved transversely the associated cam is necessarily so moved, but it is of such character that it practically prevents the operator from moving a hopper member laterally unless he does at the same time move the associated cam back to its hanger. It is of course essential that if the hopper members are properly adjusted for an envelop of the given size the cams and associated envelop feeding levers 1 0 must be correspondingly adjusted. These toggle links above referred to serve to remind the operator of this necessity and to show him when he has positioned the hopper member and cam properly with respect to one another. v

The power. to drive the machine is a plied through a pulley 100 which is loose? and groove connection with. the shaft 51. This carries jaws 101 adapted to engage or disengage jaws 100 on the hub of the pulley 100 to thereby make or break the driving connection between the pulley and the shaft. 1

This sleeve has a circumferential groove, and into this groove project pins 102 carried by a. yoke 103 which is a part of the shifting lever 103 that is pivoted to a bracket 104 fixed to the machine frame. this lever this clutch sleeve-may be moved into engagement with the pulley, or out of engagement with it.

This lever is adjacent the poles of an electro-magnet 112 which is fixed to the 125 frame work of the machine, and the lever serves as the armature of that magnet. When the magnet is energized and therefore at- By operating tracts the lever, the lever will swing in the direction to cause it to withdraw the clutch sleeve from its engagement with the pulley. Therefore, to disconnect the machine from the source of power one has only to energize this magnet. The circuit of the magnet, as shown diagrammatically in Fig. 6, includes a suitable electrical generator 115 connected with one terminal of the magnet winding. The other terminal of the magnet may be connected to the metallic frame work of the machine. The electrical generator may be connected with an insulated switch spring 116 supported by the frame work of the machine in a position such that a metallic contact plate 50 which is fixed to the rotating platen may under certain circumstances engage with it. This contact plate is, however, fixed to the platen in a position such that when the feed fingers have taken hold of an envelop they will drag that envelop between the spring 116 and this contact plate 50 and thereby prevent the two from coming into electrical contact. So long, therefore, as envelops are being drawn from the hopper by the feed arms, the electrical contact between the switch and contact plate will be prevented. But if the envelops have all been withdrawn from the hopper, or if the bottom envelop is not placed in the hopper so that its flap will lie in the described relation to the front plate of the hopper and the platen cylinder and feed arms, said feed arms will not withdraw an envelop from the hopper and carry it between the contact plate and spring. Therefore these two will come into electrical contact and thereby the circuit of the magnet will be completed, with the result that the clutch operating lever will be moved in the direction which will disengage the clutch sleeve from the pulley, and thereupon, the machine being disconnected from the source of power, will stop. This clutch shifting lever 103 was a part of the circuit of the magnet. It was in contact with an insulated metal plate 105 which wasconnected into the magnetic circuit; and the lever itself is connected with the metallic part of the machine frame. When the circuit is completed by the engagement, of the contact plate on the platen with the switch spring referred to, and the magnet is energized, and the lever 103 moved so as to disconnect the machine from the driving pulley, this movement of the lever moves it out of contact with said metallic plate and into contact with an insulating block 106 whereby the circuit of the magnet was broken in another place. Therefore the circuit will be a broken circuit e en though the platen stops with the plate thereon still in contact with the switch spring. Having described my invention,

claim:-'

1. The combination of a rotatable platen lessees shaft, a platen fixed thereto, an envelop hopper adjacent said platen, two feed arms which are respectively located at opposite ends of said platen and are pivoted to said shaft on axes which are at substantial right angles to said shaft,each of said arms having at its end an offset feed finger,and means for rocking said feed arms on their pivots as the shaft rotates substantially as and for the purpose specified.

2. The combination of a rotatable platen shaft, a platen fixed thereto, an envelop hopper adjacent said platen, two feed arms each of which near its middle is pivoted to said shaft on an axle substantially at right angles to the shaft. and each of said levers having at each of its ends an ofiset feed finger, and means for rocking said feed levers on their pivots as the shaft rotates, gulstantially as and for the purpose speci- 3. The combination of a rotatable platen shaft, a platen fixed thereto, an envelop hopper adjacent said platen, two feed arms which are respectively located at opposite ends of said platen and are pivoted to said shaft on axes which are at substantial right angles to said shaft,-each of said arms having at its ends an offset feed finger, a fixed cam which is associated with and engages each feed arm and causes it to rock on its pivot, substantially as specified, as said shaft rotates.

4. The combination of a feed hopper, comprising a fixed front plate and two rear corner members, a sliding frame on which said corner members are mounted which fraaneis movable toward and from the fixed plate and said corner members being movable on said frame toward and from each other and each of said corner members having at its lower end an envelop supporting bottom, a rotatable platen located below said hopper, a shaft to which said platen is secured, feed arms located at opposits ends of said platen and respectively pivoted to said shaft on axes which are substantially at right angles to the shaft each of said arms having at its end an offset feed finger, two cams which loosely embrace the said shaft adjacent said feed arms, means which prevent the rotation of said cams but permit their longitudinal movement upon said shaft, means to preserve the engagement of said cam respec tively with the adjacent feed arms, and connections between said cams respectively and the two corner members of the hopper to require that when the cams are moved longitudinally with respect to the shaft the hopper corner member shall be similarly moved.

5. The combination of a feed hopper, comprising a fixed front plate and two rear corner members, a sliding frame which said corner members are mounted which frame is movable toward and from the fixed plate and said corner members being movable on said frame toward and from each other and each of said corner plates having at its lower end an envelop supporting bottom, a rotatable platen located below said hopper, a shaft to which said platen is secured, feed arms located at opposite ends of said platen and respectively pivoted to said shaft on axes which are substantially at right angles to the shaft, each of said arms having at its end an offset feed finger, two cams which loosely embrace the said shaft adjacent said feed arms, means which prevent the rotation of said cams but permit their longitudinal movement upon said shaft, means to preserve the engagement of said cams respectively with the adjacent feed arms, and toggles which connect the two hopper corner members with the two cams respectively.

6. In an address printing, machine, the combination of an envelop hopper whose bottom does not extend beneath the fia s of the envelops supported thereon, an a jacently placed rotatable platen, a rotatable shaft to which said platen is secured, sleeves having tongue and groove connections with said shaft and lying adjacent opposite ends of said platen, envelop feeding arms each of which is pivoted to one of sald sleeves on an axis which is transverse with respect to said sleeve,-each of said arms having at each of its ends a finger which extends toward the platen, and non-rotatable cams which surround said shaft and engage said pivoted arms and rock them on their pivots.

7. In an address printing machine, the combination of an envelop hopper whose bottom does not extend beneath the flaps of. the envelops supported thereon, an adjacently placed rotatable platen, a rotatablev shaft to which said platen is secured, sleeves having tongue and groove connections with said shaft and lying adjacent opposite ends of said platen, envelop feeding arms each of which extends on opposite sides of said shaft and is pivoted to one of said sleeves on an axis which is diametrical with respect to said shaft each of said arms having at each of its ends an offset .finger, non-rotatable cams which surround said shaft and engage said pivoted arms and rock them on their pivots, and means for ,so connecting said sleeves and cams that any movement of a sleeve lengthwise of the shaft is accompanied by a corresponding movement of the associated cam.

8. In an address printing machine, the

combination of a rotatable platen, a rotatable shaft to which said platen is secured, a transversely extended horizontal frame member,

sleeves which embrace said shaft and have tongue and groove connections therewith, means connecting each of said sleeves and an associated hanger whereby any movement of the hanger lengthwise of said platen shaft will be accompanied by a like movement of the sleeve, and feed arms pivoted respectively to said sleeves on axes which are trans verse to said sleeves each of said arms being adapted to be engaged by the adjacently placed cam, and each arm having at both of its ends an offset feed finger which extends toward the platen and is adapted in certain positions of the arm to which it is fixed to pass between the flap and body of the lowermost envelop in said hopper.

9. In an address printing machine, the combination of a rotatable platen, a rotatable shaft to which said platen is secured, sleeves having tongue and groove connections with said shaft and lying adjacent oppositeends of said platen, envelop feeding arms each of which is pivoted to one of said sleeves on an axis which is diametrical with respect to said shaft each arm having adjacent its end a finger which extends toward the platen, nonrotatable cams which surround said shaft and engage said pivoted arms and rock them on their pivots as said shaft is rotated, means for so connecting said sleeves and cams that any movement of a sleeve lengthwise of the platen shaft is accompanied by a corresponding movement of the associated cam, and a hopper having two independently movable 'rear corner members each of which is conthe axis of said platen, said hopper also hfi-V',

ing two rear corner members each of which carries an envelop supporting bottom plate located in a plane approximately tangential to the upper point of the platen. a stop finger fixed to the front plate of said hopper and extending therefrom toward the platen and to a point in a horizontal plane which is below the top of said platen, feed arms carried by said shaft each having an offset feed finger adapted to insert itself between the lower envelop and. its flap and to draw saicl envelop out or" the hopper under the front plate thereof and under the stop finger, the lower edge of saicl stop finger however being in a plane such that if two envelope be simultaneously drawn out of the hopper bememes neath the front plate thereof the advancing edge of the upper envelop Will engage saicl stop finger. 10

In testimony whereof, I hereunto efix my signature.

CLEFZCON CHISHOLM. 

